PCToday

The 36th Annual Penn College Foundation Golf Classic, featuring six-time PGA Tour winner Rocco Mediate, recently raised a record-setting $140,360 for student scholarships at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

With this year’s support, the Penn College Foundation Golf Classic Scholarship Fund now totals nearly $2.1 million. Proceeds from the annual Golf Classic and accumulated investment income created the endowed scholarship fund, one of the foundation’s largest.

Mediate, a Greensburg native who has also won three times on the Champions Tour, including the 2016 Senior PGA Championship, hosted a driving-range exhibition and played three holes with seven foursomes during the event, held at the Williamsport Country Club.

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A national foundation devoted to manufacturing’s future is teaming with Pennsylvania College of Technology to spark interest among high schoolers in the sector’s rewarding careers.

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the charitable foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International, provided a $2,000 grant for the college to host the Thingamajig Fabricators Pre-College Program for students entering grades 9-12. The program is also supported by the PMMI Education and Training Foundation and Construction Specialties Inc.

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Ready to see what hands-on learning is all about? Here’s a teasing glimpse of the action that’s set to unfold in the Pennsylvania College of Technology episode of The College Tour, produced nationally and streaming on Amazon Prime when Season Five drops on Aug. 31:

Now that your interest is piqued, watch the full episode at Penn College’s College Tour website. Filmed over five days during the spring semester and edited into 27 brisk minutes, the video features 10 standout students in dedicated segments: Ashlee Felix, human services & restorative justice (Business, Arts & Sciences); Caila N. Flanagan, who earned two business degrees (Wildcat Life); Alejandro F. Huaman, a building science & sustainable design: architectural technology concentration alumnus (Engineering Technologies); Dacia J. James, dental hygiene (Nursing & Health Sciences); Jesse D. Laird V, a nursing student and ROTC cadet (Commitment to Service); Danielle E. Malesky, construction management (Momentum Guaranteed); Maggie J. Mangene, a softball player and heating, ventilation & air conditioning design technology student (Stay Wild); Wesley S. McCray, an engineering design technology grad (Future Made by Hand); Kathryn A. Plankenhorn, physician assistant studies (Explore Campus & Beyond); and automotive technology management alumnus Dhruv Singh (Come Ready, Leave Prepared). After hearing their stories and getting the inside track on campus life, we’re sure you’ll agree with host Alex Boylan that “There’s so much to love here!”

Dylan S. Klemas, a May civil engineering technology graduate and face-off midfielder while a member of the Wildcat men’s lacrosse team, proudly wore number 9 to honor an uncle who played for the Welsh national team. A new video gives viewers the opportunity to hear his story and learn what he loves about the tight-knit community he found at Penn College. “It’s put me in a great position. I have a job already lined up when I graduate (he has since assumed responsibilities as an assistant project manager at Berg Construction in Morgantown) and I haven’t looked back,” says Klemas, who did the hard work necessary to balance academics and athletics – and thrive at both. “It’s busy, it’s very doable. It’s actually made it a lot better because it’s taught me a lot more time management. The school puts a lot of resources out there to help us, whether it’s the Tutoring Center (or) a lot of late-night study hours with the team. It’s easy when you have a team of 43 guys that are all your good friends!”

After 17 years of racing, the Penn College Baja SAE team finally captured a coveted first-place finish. Twice. First in Tennessee and next in New York, the all-star team outperformed a strong field from around the world in the famed endurance event. “Going into Tennessee, we really didn’t know if we could do it. It was a lot more of a surprise,” said Dakota C. Harrison, of Lewisberry, Baja club vice president and one of two drivers for the endurance race. “By the time we finished Tennessee, that gave us the confidence to show up to Rochester. We knew that we could do it, but there’s so many things out on the track that could have taken us out at any time.” Rugged terrain, changing elevation, and tight turns were no match for the team’s grit and their buggy’s durability. Meet the team. Hear their story. And relive the victory that will fuel all future competitions.

Recent graduates of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s landscape/plant production technology program were chosen for both of this year’s Fred Winter Memorial Awards for Excellence in Horticulture from the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture.

Rebecca Cornish, of Lewisburg, and Faith E. Mitchell, of Sunbury, will each receive $1,500 in conjunction with the awards, established as a long-term way to honor one of PSPA’s longtime members. The applications from Cornish and Mitchell “rose to the top of the pile” as the selection committee’s four judges sorted through a slate of excellent candidates, a society official told the winners.

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Daun Williamson, who graduated from Penn College last month with an associate degree in building construction technology, will conduct a Vinyl Siding Institute installer training later this month at the college’s Clean Energy Center.

Williamson, the only person to hold three VSI certifications – as an installer trainee, an installer and a trainer – will instruct the course from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, at 2245 Reach Road. She was among the college’s first group of students to be certified as installers last fall.

“For me, teaching vinyl siding is a great way to create my own unique career path,” she said, “certifying others in the industry and becoming a greater asset to local contractors and our community.”

Those interested in attending should consult the course flyer: VSI flyer

Thirty-four Pennsylvania College of Technology students – half of whom subsequently earned degrees last month – recently attained International Codes Council certification as Building Code Specialists.

The students comprised three sections of construction technology instructor Harry W. Hintz Jr.’s Codes in Construction class during the spring semester. To earn certificates, students had to score 70% or better on a 60-question, 2-hour-allotted, written examination on the building provisions of “The International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings.”

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Pennsylvania College of Technology has appointed experienced educator Nathaniel E. Woods Jr. to a newly created position: special assistant to the president for inclusion transformation.

Woods comes to Penn College from Grays Harbor College, Aberdeeen, Washington, where he is interim dean of workforce education and a tenured faculty member in human services.

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Meet Tucker D. Phillippe-Johansson, a member of the men’s tennis team who recently graduated with a bachelor’s in residential construction technology & management and an associate degree in building construction technology. “When I’m serving, usually I think about where I want to hit the ball before I do it,” the Mattituck, New York, resident says in a new Wildcat Spotlight video. “I kind of clear my mind so I don’t really think about anything else but the shot that I’m hitting.” It’s that singular focus that brought him success on and off the court, allowing him to compete collegiately and guaranteeing an immersive learning experience.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Board of Directors on Thursday approved a 2022-23 budget, granted emeritus status to a retired senior administrator and a retired faculty member, approved the institution’s Strategic Plan for 2022-26, and authorized the appointment of the firm to conduct the college’s audit for the 2021-22 fiscal year.

The $161.5 million total budget includes a 1.87% tuition increase for in-state students and a 2.03% increase for non-Pennsylvania residents. Residence Life rates for on-campus student housing and Dining Services meal plan rates both will rise by 2% in 2022-23.
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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Board of Directors on Thursday approved a 2022-23 total budget of $161.5 million calling for a 1.87% increase in tuition for in-state students.

The total budget represents a 3.22% increase over 2021-22. The operating budget for 2022-23 is $113.3 million.

The state appropriation is budgeted at $28.1 million, based on Gov. Tom Wolf’s state budget proposal, which prescribes a 5% increase for Penn College. The projected appropriation accounts for 17.4% of the college’s total budget and 24.8% of the operating budget.

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William J. Martin, who retired as Pennsylvania College of Technology’s senior vice president in 2011 after serving the institution with distinction for nearly three decades, has been granted “emeritus” status.

Retired faculty and staff at Pennsylvania College of Technology are eligible for emeritus status if they have demonstrated a record of distinguished service to students, their department, their academic school and/or the college itself.  The college’s Board of Directors approved the designation for Martin at its Thursday meeting.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology has granted faculty emeritus status to Patrick D. Murphy, a founding member of what is now the graphic design department.

Murphy, who retired in 2010 after 31 years of teaching service to Penn College, was the recipient of the college’s highest honor granted to faculty – the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award – in 1989.

He developed the curriculum for the Bachelor of Science degree in graphic design and served on a committee charged with developing baccalaureate degrees across campus. Additionally, he was instrumental in implementing capstone course projects for bachelor’s degrees.

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Mark R. Bierly and Shawn R. Simmons, both of whom graduated last month in automotive technology: Honda PACT emphasis, take viewers on a tour of Penn College’s automotive majors. In a newly released video, shot in their dwindling time as students, the pair discuss why they chose Penn College and what they like most about their program. “I knew that I wanted to do something that was hands-on and not sit behind a desk all day,” Simmons says. “When I found out about the eight-week classes and the eight-week paid internships, I was sold!” Bierly adds. They also show off the labs, explain the various degree options, and talk about the ease of leveling up from certificate to associate to bachelor’s.